I have been using Ubuntu 10.04 for 2 years now and honestly, I am somewhat bored of Linux and wish to explore Unix (or Unix Like) now. I don't want a dumbed down version (like Ubuntu) anymore and want to experience Unix (or Linux if need be) in its true form. I basically want more to do with terminal and exploiting the open source nature of the OS.

My requirements are plainly

No dumbing down. I'll take a few shots in my knee if necessary.

Awesome interface from parallel/high performance programming. I use Intel MKL on a daily basis. I use the computer ONLY for programming. So, all else (Flash support, Firefox blah blah) is useless.

It should be extremely extremely stable. (Debian like)

It should have good community support and long term support. I don't like changing OSes every 6 months.

What would you suggest?

(I have tried to make this question as objective as possible. Please don't give me a "depends" answer. Just throw a name if need be)
NetBSD vs FreeBSD vs OpenBSD vs Other Unix/UnixLike vs Linux
(I would really want to try a BSD/Unix now but then, if my requirements aren't met, I don't mind a Linux)

P.S:
I am not a N00B. I have tried Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora & RHEL but not long enough to make an informed choice.

By dumbed-down, are you referring to Ubuntu desktop, or which part? Or maybe Ubuntu OS in general?
–
TshepangJan 20 '12 at 14:21

I want to explore awk, sed, grep and other stuff. I want to write my own codes or scripts when I want to do something rather than google it immediately. I know its possible to do so in Ubuntu as well but the fact that it is so user friendly is a demotivator :P
–
user14517Jan 20 '12 at 14:35

6 Answers
6

For exploration purposes I would say OpenBSD to discover how stable, secure and simple it can be. The basics of Linux will be Slackware.

But this is in contradiction to your programming goals. So knowing about HP-Unix, AIX, Solaris, Linux Debian, RH and SuSE I would recommend using Linux CentOS 5.7 (or newer - keep it updated via yum-cron) to you.

CentOS 5 is binary compatible to RHEL 5 and there are many tools around for the el5-branch (use rpmforge as additional repository - see the CentOS page about that).

Debian or Slackware, those are the "classic" choices.
They are very different, thus it is worth trying both.
Debian is by no means "dumbed down", but it has many tools which make your life easier.
With Slackware you are very much on your own.

If you are just looking for Choice -- I would suggest get onto using SmartOS (Fork of OpenSolaris by Joyent group and sports active development, community and support)
Has got all the necessary tools that a modern Operating System should have.

because freeBSD is stable secure and easy to use for geeks, its known for its stability and best of all its truly open source, I know some of us will not agree with my thoughts. Its way mature than any other OS , its useful for programming :)